The interaction between footwear and a surface is of utmost important for individuals who are looking to maximize performance. As such, individuals often use footwear designed to provide a high level of traction between the sole of the shoe and a surface (i.e. a basketball court, a badminton court, etc.). However, as the sole of a shoe becomes dirty, its ability to stick onto a surface will diminish; thereby decreasing athletic performance and increasing the possibility of injury as a result of slippage on a given surface.
Traction with a surface may be restored to an athletes' footwear by cleaning the sole of the shoe by, for example: (i) wiping the sole of the shoe on sticky mats known as Stick'Ums™ or Slipp-Nott™, which are placed on the outside boundary of a playing surface; (ii) wiping a dry or moist cloth, such as a sock or rag, onto the sole of a persons shoe; (iii) applying a powder onto the sole of a shoe; and/or (iv) using a variety of cleaning pads or other devices that may attached over the tongue or shoelaces of a shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,426 discloses a cleaning device for dislodging, picking up and retaining foreign particles, wherein the device is attached onto a shoe by making use of attachment means that clasps around the fastened footwear laces and are interlocked by means of Velcro™ type fastener strips. Such device is disclosed in FIG. 1, of the present application.
As it can be seen in FIG. 2, U.S. Pat. No. 5,421,106 discloses a removable shoestring cover for athletic shoes which provides an upwardly facing wiping surface of suede or other material, and which cover is attached to the shoestrings at the upper and lower edge of the cover by flaps which fold around portions of the shoestrings and are held by a hook and loop type fastener.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,564 discloses a shoe sole wiping pad sewn to the outer surface of an athletic sock. The wiping pad has a moisture-bearing wiping surface that removes dust and debris from the sole of an athletic shoe. The wiping pad cannot be removed from the sock for moisture replenishment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,128,801 discloses a shoe sole cleaner that removes debris from a sole of a user's shoe by swiping the sole over the shoe sole cleaner on the user's opposing shoe. As it can be seen in FIG. 3, a two-part mechanical fastener (e.g., hook-and-loop) securing the shoe sole cleaner to a shoe by its shoelaces.
Japanese patent application no. JP19990216643 discloses a device comprising a base member located on the tip of shoe and cleaner member. As it can be seen in FIG. 4, the two members are detachably fastened to one another.
As it can be seen in FIG. 5, Chinese patent application no. CN20112111155U discloses a sports shoe with anti-slippage shoe tongues made with magic tape.
International laid-open publication no. WO2012/148496A1 (corresponding to U.S. Publication no. 2014/0047652) discloses a traction-enhancing cleaning kit, comprising a hook-and-loop attachment, that is mounted atop an anchoring platform. As it can be seen in FIG. 6, the kit must be laced onto an athlete's shoe; thereby requiring an individual to remove the laces from the shoe(s) and rethreading them through the device to attach it thereon.
An important drawback of the devices of the prior art is that when pressure is applied thereon by a user, i.e., when a user wipes the sole of his or shoe over the device, or when an athlete makes a sudden movement during play, the attaching means of these devices detach themselves from the shoe. For instance, when Velcro™ attachments are used, FIGS. 1 and 3, they may become loose during play or worse completely detach themselves from the corresponding member, as a result of the amount of pressure an athlete applies onto the opposite shoe so as to clean the sole of the opposite shoe, or as result of quick player movements. Moreover, when Velcro™ is used in shoe devices, it is subject to wear and tear and become simply ineffective when fibres and/or dirt particles accumulate therein; thereby completely losing its adhesive properties. Velcro™ also has an additional drawback of abrading shoelaces, as well as other fine materials such as silk, rayon, or fine cotton blends, which may be in users gym bag.
In other instances, the device of the prior art, FIG. 6, cannot be easily attached onto a shoe. In this particular case, an individual must remove the laces of a shoe, mount the device on the tongue of a shoe and begin threading the laces through the stirrups of the device and the corresponding eyelets of a shoe. Not only is this a time consuming process, but, as a result of the construction or design of the device, the stirrups of the device are susceptible of breaking or being damaged, as a result of: (i) normal wear and tear of the device, and (ii) the over tightening of shoelaces by an individual; thereby exerting too much pressure on the stirrups, which in turn causes them to break. In the same vein, the stirrups of the device may be damaged as a result of the athlete's brusque rubbing of his or her shoe on the opposite shoe.
There is therefore a need for a safe, compact, portable and universal apparatus that can be easily attached onto and detached from a shoe and that can perform a multitude of functions, such as, for example: (i) providing anti-slip properties to a sole of shoe; thereby enhancing an individual's traction on a surface (i.e., a playing or performing surface); (ii) provide one or more pocket(s), in which an individual can store assets (i.e., valuables); as well as (iii) providing reflective and/or emitting lighting properties in low-light conditions.